Program Overview

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Biomedical Sciences MSci Honours

The accredited four-year Biomedical Sciences integrated master's provides students with experience in a professional research environment to ensure they are work-ready when they graduate.

Course Overview

This degree was designed with employers in mind and develops students' understanding of how the human body functions in health and disease. It equips students with the practical research experience they need to make a difference in modern medicine.

Quality and Ranking

• 17th in the UK – The Complete University Guide 2026 (Biomedical Sciences category)
• 12th in the UK – The Guardian University Guide 2026 (Anatomy and Physiology category)
• Global Top 140 University – QS World University Rankings 2026
• Top 100 for Anatomy and Physiology - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
• 65% increase in research power since 2014 – Research Excellence Framework 2021
• 42% of research is classified as 4* world-leading research – Research Excellence Framework 2021
• 12th in the UK – Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 (Anatomy and Physiology category)
• Top 25 in the UK and Top 100 in the world for sustainable development – Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024
• Top 125 for Life Sciences – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2025
• Global Top 160 University - Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025

Professional Accreditation and Recognition

This degree has been accredited by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). Accreditation by the RSB recognizes academic excellence in the biosciences that educates the research and development leaders and innovators of the future.

Modules and Learning

The information below is intended to provide an example of what students will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and students complete modules totaling 120 credits by the end of each stage.

Stage 1

Students are introduced to biomolecular sciences through a series of modules.

• Molecules of Life (20 credits)
• Infectious Threats: past, present and future (20 credits)
• Core Skills in Biosciences (20 credits)
• Core Concepts in Biosciences (20 credits)
• Therapeutic Mechanisms (20 credits)
• Cells to Systems (20 credits)

Stage 2

Students take the following compulsory modules:

• Skills for Bioscientists: Techniques, Tools, and Applications (20 credits)
• Genomics and Gene expression in Disease (20 credits)
• Anatomy and Cellular Systems (20 credits)

Students also take one optional module from each of the following lists:

List 1A:

• Control of Physiological Systems (20 credits)
• Factors affecting Pharmacokinetics and Drug Disposition (20 credits)
• Neuroscience: Essentials and Beyond (20 credits)
• Microbial Mechanisms of Human Pathogenesis (20 credits)
• Proteins: Structure, Function and Biochemistry (20 credits)

List 2A:

• Chromosome Biology in Development and Disease (20 credits)
• Bacterial Cell and Molecular Biology (20 credits)
• Human Reproduction and Fertility (20 credits)
• Introduction to Population and Public Health (20 credits)
• Mitochondrial Biology and Function (20 credits)
• Sensory Motor, and Cognitive Neuroscience (20 credits)
• Principles of Cancer (20 credits)
• Biochemistry of Gene Expression (20 credits)

List 2B:

• Bioinformatics for Biosciences (20 credits)
• Cell Signalling in Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Immunology of Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Microbial Genomics and Genome Mining (20 credits)
• Nature's Tinkerer: Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change (20 credits)
• Protein Trafficking: Mechanisms and Roles in Disease (20 credits)
• Business Enterprise for Bioscientists (20 credits)
• Respiration and Digestion: Global challenges in Health and Disease (20 credits)

Stage 3

Students undertake an extended individual research project which begins in the final semester of Stage 3 and continues throughout their final year. Alongside this, they have an extensive choice of optional modules to help them tailor their degree to their interests.

• Becoming a Bioscientist: Skills for Research and Beyond (20 credits)
• Research Project for Stage 3 MSci (40 credits)

Students take one optional module from each of the following lists:

List A:

• Rare diseases genetic variants to physiological function and therapies (20 credits)
• Microbiota and Pathogens in Fundamental Research and the Clinic (20 credits)
• In vivo Research (20 credits)
• Neurodegenerative and Neurological Disorders of the Nervous System (20 credits)
• Evolutionary Genomics in Fundamental Research and the Clinic (20 credits)
• The Application of Bioinformatics Techniques to Biomedical Data (20 credits)
• The Science of Ageing: From Biological Mechanisms to Societal Impact (20 credits)
• Therapeutic Applications of Cell Signalling (20 credits)
• Applied Technologies for Biosciences (20 credits)

List B:

• Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology (20 credits)
• Cancer Biology and Therapy (20 credits)
• Antimicrobials – Mode of action, Discovery, and Resistance (20 credits)
• Clinical Movement, Balance and Mobility Analysis (20 credits)
• Bioethics and the Biosciences (20 credits)
• Molecular Pathology (20 credits)
• Molecular Oncology and Cancer Therapeutics (20 credits)
• Neuropharmacology (20 credits)
• Cardiovascular development and disease (20 credits)
• Biochemistry of Disease (20 credits)

List C:

• Advanced Research Topics in Neuroscience (20 credits)
• Human Disease Genetics (20 credits)
• Mitochondrial dysfunction: A driver of rare and common disease (20 credits)
• Omics and AI for emerging and future biomedicine (20 credits)
• Patterns and Determinants of Disease in Human Populations (20 credits)
• Precision Medicine, Genomics and Informatics (20 credits)
• Translational Bioscience Research (20 credits)
• Applied Biochemistry for Drug Discovery (20 credits)

Stage 4

Students undertake an extended individual research project which begins in the final semester of Stage 3 and continues throughout their final year. Alongside this, they have an extensive choice of optional modules to help them tailor their degree to their interests.

• Research Project (80 credits)

Students choose two optional modules from the list below:

• The Biological Study of Behaviour (20 credits)
• Ageing & Health (20 credits)
• Experimental Medicine & Therapeutics (20 credits)
• Drug Discovery & Development (20 credits)
• Cancer Studies (20 credits)
• Chromosome Biology and Cell Cycle Control in Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Clinical Epidemiology (20 credits)
• The Biological Basis of Psychiatric Illness & its Treatment (20 credits)
• Biology of Ageing (20 credits)
• Applied Immunobiology of Human Disease (20 credits)
• Molecular Microbiology (20 credits)
• Biomolecular Research in Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Sensory Systems (20 credits)
• Scientific Basis of Neurological Disorders (20 credits)
• Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cells (20 credits)
• Transplantation Sciences (20 credits)
• Genetic Medicine (20 credits)
• Mitochondrial Biology and Medicine (20 credits)
• Diabetes (20 credits)
• Cardiovascular Science in Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Bioscience Research Development and Enterprise (20 credits)
• Comparative Cognition: Information Processing in Humans and Other Animals (20 credits)
• Exercise in Health and Disease (20 credits)
• Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine (20 credits)
• Human Health and the Impact of Microbial Genomics (20 credits)
• Therapeutic Applications of Cell Signalling Pathways (20 credits)
• Bioinformatics for Biomedical Scientists (20 credits)
• Mechanisms in Genetic Disease: from Genotype to Phenotype (20 credits)

Opportunities

Study Abroad

Experience life in another country by choosing to study abroad as part of the degree. The university offers a wide range of destinations and opportunities for students and can help decide which option would work best.

Work Placement

Get career-ready with a work placement and leave as a confident professional in the field. Students can apply to spend 9 to 12 months working in any organization in the world and receive university support from a dedicated team to secure their dream placement.

Facilities and Environment

Students will be based in the School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the city-centre campus. The Faculty is also home to Dentistry, Medicine, Psychology, and Pharmacy, making it a vibrant environment for learning and research.

The facilities include:

• A dedicated medical library with a wide range of specialist books and journals
• Spacious modern teaching laboratories
• Hi-tech computer clusters and study spaces
• Cutting-edge research laboratories and equipment facilities
• Flexible student social spaces
• Being less than two minutes’ walk of the sports centre

Support

Students will have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout their degree to help with academic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help students in their first year. They are fellow students who can help settle in and answer any questions, when starting university.

The university also has study skills ambassadors; peers who can help with studies, including maths support.

Your Future

There is a great demand for graduates in the biomedical and biomolecular sciences within the health services and industry, particularly leading or working as part of research teams, and many students choose this career path.

A large proportion of graduates choose to take a further degree, either a medical, master's, PhD, or teaching qualification, before embarking on permanent employment.

Recent Biomedical and Biomolecular Sciences BSc and MSci Honours graduates have taken up roles such as:

• Clinical specialist
• Laboratory analyst
• Research technician
• Clinical data associate
• Trainee clinical scientist
• Research PhD student
• Medical writer

Work in a Range of Industries

Sectors employing bioscientists include:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Biotechnology
• Education
• Healthcare
• Chemical
• Cosmetics and toiletries
• Food and drink
• Scientific writing
• Research and development
• Patent law
• Business analysis
• Software engineering
• Clinical trials management

Entry Requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis, and the university accepts a broad range of qualifications.

The entrance requirements and offers below apply to 2026 entry.

• A-Level: AAB including Biology or Chemistry, plus at least one from: Mathematics or Further Mathematics; Physics; Psychology; Biology; or Chemistry. General Studies, Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture, and Critical Thinking are not accepted. GCSE Chemistry, Biology (minimum grade A or 7) or Combined Science (minimum grade A A or 7 7) required if Biology or Chemistry are not offered at A or AS Level.
• International Baccalaureate: 34 points with Biology or Chemistry and another science at Higher Level grade 5 or above. The university regards Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry as acceptable science subjects. Standard Level Chemistry or Biology required at grade 5 if not offered at Higher Level.

Tuition Fees and Scholarships

The 2026 entry home fees have not yet been confirmed.

• Qualification: MSci Honours Full time
  • Home students Full time: 4 years | Tuition fees (Year 1) Not Set
  • International students Full time: 4 years | Tuition fees (Year 1) £30,900

Tuition fees are payable for each year of the course. £9,535 is the maximum fee that the university is permitted to charge for home fee-paying students for the academic year. This fee has not yet been confirmed for 2026.

As a general principle, students should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of their course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

The university supports EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships.

Admissions Policy

This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at Newcastle University. It is intended to provide information about admissions policies and procedures to applicants and potential applicants, to their advisors and family members, and to staff of the university.

University Admissions Policy and related policies and procedures are available on the university's website.

Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can allow students to convert existing relevant university-level knowledge, skills, and experience into credits towards a qualification. The university's RPL policy may apply to this course.

How to Apply

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, students must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. Students will need:

• The UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• The UCAS code for the course they want to apply for
• The UCAS 'buzzword' for their school or college

If students are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, they will still use the Apply system. They will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS.